


Claws and Effect

by Jackfruit



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Kid!Roman, M/M, More tags to be added, Superhero!Patton, Superpowers, cameos of other fics bc im a loser, dumb idiots pining for way longer than necessary, i sure love my logicality, kid!virgil, possible violence in later chapters bc patton fights people, there's 1 original character and she doesnt do much dw, u can pry these boys from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-06-15 19:36:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15420078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackfruit/pseuds/Jackfruit
Summary: Becoming the superhero Morality wasn’t exactly Patton’s first choice of career, but he liked to think he’d been handling it well enough- balancing his alter ego and regular day job at his cousin’s cafe. That is, until a familiar face walks into Sanders Delights, and a mysterious new villain appears soon after.





	1. Patton Your Gay is Showing

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter isn't the most thrilling, but thing will pick up real soon! Also, we'll actually get to see those other lovelies in the characters tag. Just not quite yet.

Cross his heart and seal it with a pinkie promise, Patton was not falling asleep on the job. No sir, not he! He was just…trying to very slowly blink the dryness out of them.

“Patton?” Patton’s head snapped up and he turned to face Thomas, who was wiping one of the counters with a quirked brow.

“Stay up too late watching Parks and Rec again?” Thomas laughed. Patton laughed along with him, refilling the napkin dispenser.

“You know me, Thomas,” Patton said brightly, feeling the amusement rolling off Thomas in steady, soft waves. Patton hated lying, but he technically didn’t. Lie, that is. Thomas did know him. He just happened to be wrong about Patton’s nightly pastimes. His ribs still ached dully from where an unruly gang member had decided to kick him.

“Sure do, Pat,” Thomas’s gaze flicked up at the sound of the bell above the door jinggling merrily. “Though, I think someone knows you even better.” He gestured towards the man who had just walked in, decked in a leather jacket, messenger bag, and dark sunglasses- an iced coffee dangling losely from one hand.

“REM!” Patton shouted, suddenly very awake. He launched himself over the counter- a shock to Thomas apparently- and threw himself in his arms. Remy chuckled warmly, contentedness, affection, and love bubbling around Patton.

“What’re you doin here, kiddo?” Patton asked, walking over to let himself back behind the counter, inviting Remy along as well. “I doubt it’s more coffee, as you said the aesthetic of Starbucks outranks even the actually good tasting stuff we make at Sanders Delights.”

“Mmmm, yeah, you’re right as always Patty,” Remy took a sip of the coffee he did have, placing it on the counter, “I came for two reasons. The first: I need a job.” Patton blinked, feeling Thomas’s confusion as well.

“Why? What happened with your last job I thought you loved it,” Patton said, worry churning in his gut. Remy offered him a soft chuckle, ruffling his carmel curls.

“I did, kinda. I got fired for ahem,” Remy made air quotes, “‘misusing and tampering with dangerous equipment.’” He scoffed, crossing his arms, “Like, if you didn’t want me using the equipment, then don’t make it so easily accessible. So, yeah, you got a job opening or two?” he turned to Thomas who thought.

“Well, we are always open to hiring family. Wait…why two?” Remy shrugged nonchalantly.

“My buddy Helen quit, a little before I got fired actually. She’s been lookin’ for a job. She’d have most of the same qualifications as me, y’know?” Thomas bit his lip, thinking.

“Well a couple kids won’t be working here much longer since they’re graduating so I suppose…”

“Awesome, thanks TomTom, love ya! I’m stealing my lil bro now though, bye-bye,” Remy, grabbed Patton by the arm and started to drag him away.

“Wh- Remy, I have opening shift starting in ten minutes. You can’t just take the only other person working!” Thomas protested. Patton pulled his arm away with a laugh.

“Yeah, sorry Rem. I’m actually currently employed.”

“Wow, okay, first, I’m wounded. Second: can I at least take you into the back? I need to show you something, like right now. Or I will die. And then you’d lose me. Which would suck, Patton.” Patton giggled, feeling the light teasing bounce across his skin.

“That sounds fine, right Thomathy?” Patton turned to Thomas. He sighed, equally dramatic, and leaned against the wall.

“I suppose I can live without my best barista/cashier for five minutes,” he said, throwing a wink at the two. Patton laughed and Remy saluted, dragging Patton into the back room. It was small and cramped- clearly not meant for being more than a storage room. Despite this fact, a rickety old card table and a couple beanbags were tossed on the floor for employees who wanted a quick break between rushes. Remy threw himself down into one of the beanbags and rifled through his bag.

“So, what is so so important you had to show me right now?” Patton asked, plopping down in the beanbag across from his brother. Remy grinned sharply, excitement and mischief sparking and poking at Patton as Remy pulled out what appeared to be a strip of fabric.

“Tada! It’s a new mask,” Remy tossed it to Patton, who caught it with one hand.

“What’s wrong with my old mask?” Patton asked, looking for eyeholes and finding none. Remy scoffed, taking another sip of his coffee.

“Patty Patt, you got real noticeable eyes. We’re lucky no one has caught a closeup view of you on camera yet. Plus, with this one you can’t skimp out on putting in contacts, and I think that’ll help with your glasses budget” Patton blushed, studying the mask again.

“So…how am I supposed to see out of this?” Patton asked. Smugness danced across his skin as Remy leaned forward, removing Patton’s glasses and tying the mask around his face like a blindfold. Somehow, Patton could still see through (well, see as well as he could without glasses or contacts), with only a slightly dark tint to everything blocking his vision.

“Woah, how did you manage this?” Patton asked, flexing his fingers. Even though the fabric was light, the clarity of what he was seeing was still quite impressive. Remy shrugged, but that smugness was still there.

“Lotsa coffee and a couple late nights. You’re welcome,” Remy pulled a notepad out of his bag and made a few checks, “Only 36 left.”

“Oh no, how will I live when you run out of owed favors,” Patton deadpanned, taking the mask off and shoving it in his apron pocket  while he slid his glasses back on. The prodding teasing was back as Remy slung an arm across Patton’s shoulders.

“You won’t. I’m going to kill you,” Remy pinched Patton in the side, causing him to squeal, “zap zap you’ve been tased.”

“No tasing allowed! Sanders Delights is a safe zone,” Remy playfully smacked his forehead.

“Ah, how could I forget?”

“That’s one extra favor- you’re back to 37.”

“What? Boo!” Remy shoved Patton’s shoulder as they exited the back room. Patton froze, the air around him crackling. His skin began to crawl and itch and prickle and tingle and burn and freeze. He looked up slowly to see the cafe already had a large amount of patrons present.

“There you are!” Thomas said, making a latte, “we got really busy the second you left and- Patton are you alright?” Patton shook his head, attempting to clear the cobweb feeling of emotions clinging at him.

“Y-yeah. Just gimmie a sec,” Patton had to mentally shove away the worry gnawing at him coming from Remy’s direction as he breathed in through his nose. He breathed out slowly, focusing on himself- his ears to be specific. When switching to his enhanced hearing, it always felt like his ears popped. The sound seemed to go from muffled to unbearably loud. The sudden cacophony was almost as bad as the sticking, itching, burning, freezing feeling of emotions all around, but as Patton found a target of focus, the difference was immeasurable.

“Journalism just ain’t working huh?” he let his focus be on a couple of girls on the opposite end of the cafe, the other sounds muffling in comparison.

“Ugh, it’s just so dishonest. I swear if I have to do one more phony story I’m gonna lose it,” the woman stabbed her straw into her drink. Patton closed his eyes and let his hearing slowly trickle back into empathy, trading sounds for emotions. The feeling was much less intense now that he was expecting it. The whole ordeal felt to him like it took an obnoxiously long amount of time, but considering everyone just went along with it, he assumed it was in actuality much closer to thirty seconds.

“Okay, sorry about that!” Patton trotted over to Thomas, who simply shrugged, and kept making his order. He and Patton fell into a steady rhythm for a few minutes before Thomas spoke up again.

“Wanna train your brother? Since we’re hiring him and all that,” Thomas scribbled a name on the cup in his hands while Patton bagged a doughnut- subtly trying and failing to lick the glaze off his fingers without being caught.

“Sure!” he said, turning to Remy and bumping shoulders with him. Remy snickered and menacingly reached his fingers out to brush Patton’s sides. Patton squirmed and stifled his giggles with a half-hearted glare before diving in.

Another few minutes, and the rush had died down notably. Remy seemed to quite easily get the hang of making coffee and bagging pastries, so Patton let him genuinely help out a little with Thomas’s okay. It wasn’t the most thrilling job, but Patton figured if Remy wanted excitement he should’ve cared more about keeping his previous job.

Patton, lost in his thoughts to help fight off the monotony of his job, startled at the bell above the door announcing a new arrival. The cup he’d been holding jumped from his grasp and tumbled onto the floor, rolling away from him. If Patton were the type to swear, he would’ve just then as he got down on his hands and knees to chase after the darned thing.

He was so focused, he hardly heard the customer’s smooth, monotone voice as he ordered from Thomas. Patton paused a second, swearing it was a voice he’d heard before. He shrugged it off, however, because it wasn’t uncommon for people to come in multiple times, even if they weren’t regulars. Patton finally succeeded in retrieving the cup, making a victorious sound in the back of his throat.

“And your name?” Thomas asked.

“Logan,” the man said. Patton jolted up suddenly, slamming his head on the counter and letting out a strangled hiss. He looked up, rubbing the back of his head, and saw Remy pull his shades down a hair.

“Hooooooly sh-” Patton pinched Remy’s leg, making him yelp. “I was gonna say holy, uh, sharks. Yup,” Remy said, popping the p before he took his shades off the rest of the way, green eyes like fire, “Logan Lehrer?”

“That would be correct. Do I know you?” Patton definitely recognized Logan now, as he could sense the strange, muffled buzzing against his skin. Patton never could figure out how his emotions were so dulled down to the point he could hardly pick them up, a factor that had drawn him to the other time and again during high school. He couldn’t dwell on his newfound wonder, however, because Remy was looking down at Patton, a wolfish grin on his face as he slid his sunglasses back up his nose. Patton shook his head wildly.

“Ohhh my God, gurl, you don’t remember?” Patton knew Remy was probably fluttering his lashes as mischief began poking at Patton once more, “I was the annoying one who asked you way too many personal questions that one time you had a project with my brother!” This was the first time Patton was hearing about this and he glared up at his brother from where he was still crouched, vowing revenge and a very lengthy lecture on privacy.

“Oh. Remy,” Patton felt clear annoyance break through the dull buzz, scratching down his arms. He winced, but was glad it wasn’t as extreme as it was when he felt it from other people, “Of course you work here.”

“Nah, I don’t quite yet,” Remy started making Logan’s order, dodging around Patton as he did so, “this is free labor, baby.”

“Right,” Remy set the drink down and put his elbows on the counter, raising his eyebrows. “Speaking of your brother, though, how is Patton?” Patton’s legs were getting tired from being crouched for so long, and Thomas was giving him questioning glances from where he was standing.

“Well,” Remy’s hand landed at the base of Patton’s neck, bunching the fabric of his shirt in a fist, “why not ask him yourself?” Remy yanked up, and for the five seconds before Patton was still blissfully hidden he managed a tiny internal mantra of _please don’t still be hot, please don’t still be hot, please don’t still be hot._

_Gosh. Darnit._

Logan blinked his warm, golden brown eyes in shock that was like sudden static against Patton’s skin as he adjusted his glasses.The shock melted back, but Patton could hardly care as his internal functions were all screaming _abort abort, still hot! Still hot!_

“Patton? What were you doing under the counter?” Logan asked. Patton coughed, holding out the styrofoam cup he had been chasing after when Logan first entered.

“Dropped this!”  Good start, good start, Now, play it cool, Sanders, “Soooo. We have the same glasses?” Nailed it.

Logan gave another surprised blink before narrowing his eyes at Patton.

“You would be correct. Odd, did you have those frames back in high school?”

“Uhhhh,” Patton looked to his brother for assistance, who shook his head slightly, “No?” Patton had never hated not being able to feel Logan’s emotions clearly more than he did in that moment, as Logan arched one of his stupid, perfect eyebrows and leaned against the counter.

“You sound unsure. Do you honestly not recall if you’ve bought new frames since then?” Logan asked. Patton opened his mouth then paused. Because he suddenly remembered-

“This is my fifth pair in the last month. I lose track.”

“What? Patton, how do you break five pairs of glasses in a month?”

_Don’t say beating up bad guys, don’t say beating up bad guys, don’t say-_

“I am just. So, clumsy,” Patton put his palms flat against the counter, staring at it in mild horror. Remy sympathetically patted his back and slurped the last of his coffee loudly.

Patton was saved from further embarrassment when the bell rang again and Remy let out a loud gasp, soft, featheriness coming from him as he darted around Patton and threw himself into the arms of the man who just walked in. Said man looked extremely done despite having only just arrived as he curled his arms around Remy, who planted a loud, obnoxious kiss on his cheek.

“Hey Ethey-pooh,” it was slightly mocking, but fond. The man rolled his eyes.

“I despise you.”

“Love you too! Come to see me at work? You’re the bestest,” Remy climbed out of his boyfriend’s arms, and Patton watched him warily. Ethan Serpent was a notorious liar, and known to occasionally swipe small objects. Patton didn’t really like him (which was saying something- he liked everyone), but he made Remy happy, so he kept his complaints to a minimum.

Ethan lounged against the counter, ignoring everyone as Patton focused his gaze back on Logan. He was looking above Patton’s head, brows furrowed. Patton turned to see Logan was watching the television they kept above the counter for people to watch if they wanted. The audio was off, but subtitles were on. A reporter (Patton thought it might be one of the women he saw earlier, actually) was shown, her lips moving slightly off from the words at the bottom of the screen.

 _“In recent news, the hero dubbed Morality has recently aided in taking down the gang the…”_ the woman squinted  _“babbling baboons? Police and Scientists still marvel at the strength, speed, and abilities of flight this superhero displays.”_

 _“Fascinating,”_  Logan breathed, another precious emotion breaking through the cloud and washing across Patton. Wonder, pure and clean. Patton was probably sweating, so he ducked his head and scrubbed a little more aggressively than necessary at the counter.

“Oh. Him. That’s no big deal,” Patton let out a hysterical little laugh, “guy showed up a few months ago and beat up some criminal who was trying to rob a couple. It just so happened the boyfriend of the lady he assaulted was a vlogger or something so, uh. Yeah. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him yet.”

“Oh, I moved out of state for college. I only came back because a job offer was given to me about a month or so ago, and the local news has not exactly been my top priority.”

“Nor social interaction, if you haven’t heard any gossip about Mr. Morality,” Remy called from where he was running his hands across the chest of Ethan’s yellow sweater.

“Stop having eye sex in my cafe,” Thomas said, carrying a sack of sugar out from the back. Remy pouted, folding his arms and scrunching his nose.

“So. A real life superhero, huh? I wonder how his powers came to be. Also, where did he get the costume? And why is it cat themed- that seems rather silly.”

“Hey! That costume is awesome, excuse you,” Remy said, leaning against Ethan, who looped an arm across his shoulders.

“You have excellent tastes,” Ethan informed Logan. Remy beamed.

“See? Ethan agrees with me,” Remy curled a hand around the back of his neck and tilted his head down to kiss him.

“You two are repulsive,” Logan deadpanned, turning back to Patton. Remy huffed.

“You won’t be saying that when you get a boyfriend, Logan,” Remy said. Logan ignored him.

“Well, I best be off then. It was a pleasure to see you again, Patton. Can not say the same for your brother.” Patton laughed, and, in a moment of impulsiveness Patton was quite well known for, he stopped Logan from leaving by reaching over the counter and hooking onto his arm.

“W-wait!” Logan turned, and Patton turned pick as he raised one of his stupid perfect eyebrows again. “I, uh, want my phone number?” Logan blinked, a softness growing around the edges of his emotional buzz.

“I would not be opposed to that.” Patton scribbled his number on Logan’s coffee cup, handing him a small bag with a doughnut in it.

“For luck, y’know?” Logan’s smile was soft.

“Thank you, Patton.”

~~~

Patton really, really needed to lay off the sweets. He grunted as he struggled to yank on one of his boots. One would think running around 6 out of 7 nights a week would help him lose weight, but apparently not.

He really hated how thick his calves were, especially now. He didn’t want to wear his crocs either, because he was pretty sure they would fall off if he needed to fly at all. Along with that, Remy had informed him he was probably one of the last people on earth who wore them because they were a, quote, “fashion disaster”. Plus, his pair had cute little jibbitz that looked like cookies, cats, dogs, and rainbows, so someone would probably find it suspicious if the renowned hero Morality had the same crocs as the culinary arts major who worked at the little cafe in the heart of the city.

Grunting, Patton finally managed to get the dumb thing on, only to realize he had yet to put on the other one. He sighed, wedging his foot into it after much trial and error. He stood up, walking in small circles to adjust, before heading over to the mirror in front of his door. He ran a hand through his curls, trying to tame them somewhat before he pulled up his hood. He couldn’t suppress a giggle as he fiddled with the ears on the top. Of all the costume designs to get stuck as his brand, Patton was glad it was the cat. He tied on his mask, looking at himself one last time. Remy was right, he looked way different when his eyes weren’t visible.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked to the window, slowly opening it and looking around. No one in sight. Good. Patton pulled himself up onto the window sill, nearly purring as the wind whipped around his face, making his cape flap around him. He leapt into the air, feeling his flight take effect as he floated up and landed lightly on top of one of the buildings.

Patton stared out across the city. There was something about being a hero that Patton loved, even when he wasn’t helping people in the moment. Just the rush of knowing what was to come. It made Patton feel just a little bit braver.

With a grin, Patton thundered across the roof and leapt into the air. His stomach dropped, and it felt like the world was going in slow motion even as his heart rate increased. Then, the moment was over as his feet made contact with the top of the next building. Call him an adrenaline junkie, but there were worse things to get high on.

He landed in a crouch after a couple more rooftops, taking a moment to catch his breath. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he stood up straight to wipe it off. He looked up, seeing the tallest building in town a little ways ahead. Patton flew up towards it, landing on the top and gripping the lightning rod, hanging over the edge and scanning the town. This was his favorite place to perch and look for trouble, as it gave him a great overhead view. Patton did wish one of his powers was super vision, but he guessed his ears would have to do.

Patton let his super hearing take over, scanning across town. A group of teenagers here, a few drunk guys there (he’d keep an ear on them), but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. Patton sometimes wished there was more interesting stuff happening, but he would immediately scold himself and remind himself that boring was good. Boring meant no one was getting hurt.

Patton was just about to give up and start just doing his regular patrol, when there was an explosion from the outskirts of the city. He jolted, the sound rattled around in his skull, making his head throb painfully. He couldn’t even tell if it had really been loud, or if his super hearing just made it seem that way. Maybe both? Either way it was still more excitement then he’d seen in months.

Despite the guilt and worry gnawing at his heart, he couldn’t help the tiniest smile from curling on his lips.

“Alright then, let’s go.”


	2. Logan's Day Gets Pretty Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for the chapter: Graphic depictions of violence (explosions/bombs, blood described in and out of the body, fight scenes, etc.), minor injection/needle mention, burning building/fire, and memory loss

Logan honestly could not decide whether his day would be considered “good” or “bad”.  Not to say days were inherently good or bad, but many times Logan could label them as such based upon the ratio of negative events to positive. However, it seemed today was determined to have a positive aspect for each negative one. **  
**

Logan sighed and clicked his pen, pulling his scratch paper closer to him. He made a T chart and began to write down the pros and cons of the day.

_Con: My favorite cafe was closed today_

_Pro: Sanders Delights coffee ended up being better than the coffee from my usual cafe_

_Con: Remy Sanders works at Sanders Delights_

_Pro: Patton Sanders works at Sanders Delights_

_Con: Remy is still obnoxious_

_Pro: Patton’s eyes are still fascinating_

He paused for a moment, losing his train of thought in the blue-brown of Patton’s sparkling gaze. _“Partial or sectoral heterochromia, caused by an imbalance of melanin in the eyes,”_ his brain supplied, _“Blue eyes typically have the least amount of melanin, while brown eyes have the most.”_

Logan leaned back in his chair rubbing his eyes and trying to banish the memory of being 17, staring up at his ceiling until he gave into the itch and researched all he could about heterochromia. He knew it wasn’t a weird thing to look up, not really, but he still remembered feeling strangely dirty. Like he was stalking Patton via his eye color (which seemed even more ridiculous now that he thought about it).

Logan decided to continue his list instead of dwelling on thoughts and memories.

_Con: After leaving the cafe, a woman ran into me and spilled my coffee everywhere._

_Pro: The woman- Helen- was quite nice, and I was able to help guide her to Sanders Delights where she was going for a job interview(?)_

_Con: I was late to work._

_Pro: The doughnut Patton gave me had Crofters jam in it._

“Tired of the equations, newbie?” a voice asked. Logan jumped a bit, dropping his pen, and hearing wild snickering next to him. He turned to see his coworker, Valerie, raising an eyebrow at him. She was the only coworker he had who actually bothered to speak to him about anything other than work. Not that it made his other coworkers bad, it just made him a bit more fond of the woman.

“Trust me, if I were sick of equations, I would not have double-majored in chemistry and astronomy,” a tiny smirk curled onto Logan’s lips. Valerie laughed, and looked around before leaning in close.

“So, I know you aren’t one for gossip, but I figured you’d be interested in hearing about what’s been supposedly going on in our sister lab from across town.” Logan looked at her, shutting off his computer before giving her his full attention. She beamed.

“You know that big, secret project they’re always mentioning to us? Apparently it’s been put on hold due to someone working on it being let go and another quitting” Logan’s brow furrowed.

“Strange. Do you know why the first was let go?” Valerie shrugged.

“Nope, they’re being pretty shut-lipped about it.” Logan’s frown deepened at that. Ever since he had begun working here, this so-called secret project was all anyone seemed to be able to talk about. The fact that it was being put on hold was quite strange, no matter how many staff members ducked out.

Logan was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the sudden, dull beeping sound. Valerie, however, looked up at the ceiling, gaze narrowed.

“Do you hear that?” that got Logan’s attention.

“Hear what?” he asked.

“That beeping,” Valerie hissed. Logan stained his ears, but the beeping abruptly cut off before he could truly process it. He squinted back down at his scratch paper.

“I don’t know what-” Logan’s reply was cut off as the air around them seemed to be sucked inward.

Then, the world exploded.

Logan felt his whole body smash back into a wall, and his ears were ringing from the sound, and the impact of his skull hitting the cold metal. His glasses flew off his face and clattered onto the floor somewhere.

Logan fell to his hands and knees, his vision was blurry, but he was not quite sure if it was due to the lack of glasses, or a concussion. Perhaps both.  White, hot pain pressed against his brain and his whole body shook as he coughed. Red splattered across the white tiles, and Logan felt dread pool inside him. Or maybe it was blood. Probably blood.

In his pain induced haze, he nearly forgot about Valerie. Emphasis on nearly, as his natural survival instincts had not yet overridden the tiny shred of empathy left in his soul.

His friend(?)- coworker was sprawled across the floor, arms over her head and neck. Logan weakly stood and stumbled over to her, holding out a hand to brush her shoulder. She gasped suddenly at the contact and looked up at Logan, blinking rapidly. Logan could see the orange-red-yellow of flames out of the corner of his eye. The explosion had started a fire, and none of the alarms were going off.

“Logan-” she said. Logan shook his head, helping her stand and slinging one of her arms over his shoulder. He knew that since he was bleeding internally, he could go into shock at any minute and should probably focus on laying down and getting warm, but that wouldn’t really help if he was trapped in a burning building. Thus, he had to get himself and Valerie out as soon as possible.

Logan used his other hand to shakily pull his phone out of his pocket to call 911. However, as soon as he hit “call”, another explosion shook the building. This one certainly wasn’t as close, but some rubble caused by the previous explosion crumbled down from the ceiling and walls. Logan could see a hole had been blasted through the ceiling, so at least they smoke wouldn’t suffocate due to smoke inhalation.

Logan’s legs shook, and finally gave out a few feet from the door, causing his phone to clatter away from him. Valerie fell with him. Luckily- or unluckily, as he had no clue what kind of damage Valerie had sustained- Logan landed on top of his coworker instead of vise versa. It still felt like he had been stabbed in the gut, but it was not nearly as bad as if he had been crushed by another person.

Valerie looked at him, eyes wide with panic. She helped Logan off herself and pulled him to his feet.

“C’mon! It’s just a bit farther,” she said, voice a little hysterical. Logan groaned, feeling sweat begin to bead on his forehead. He reached out for the door shakily, but didn’t have a chance to open it, as it swung forward with great force. Valerie managed to yank Logan back just in time for the door to miss them and crash into the wall.

Logan looked up, feeling his vision blur at the edges again as he stared at the stranger. Their hair was completely hidden under a hood and a bowler hat (which seemed rather…extra), and they had dark goggles covering their eyes. A yellow bandana covering their nose and mouth. They took a step forward as they spoke- voice crackling and hissing.

_“Hm, I didn’t think there’d be two. And you, of all people, to still be here? A poor miscalculation on my part,”_ they hissed. Logan groaned, feeling dizziness roll over him in painful waves.

“W-who are you?” Valerie asked. The stranger hummed thoughtfully though it came through as more a screech than a hum.

_“Well, I was going to wait for Morality to show up, but I think I’d rather leave before he gets here,”_  the stranger seemed to be staring straight at Logan, but it was hard to tell through his blacked-out goggles.  _“Very well. You may call me Deceit.”_

Deceit strolled forward, confident, and pulled Valerie towards themself. Without her support, Logan toppled over, landing hard on his knees. He winced, feeling his whole body jolt as whatever organ was doing that pesky internal bleeding was damaged even more. Valerie tried to pull herself away from Deceit, but her eyes rolled back in his head for a second, as if she were losing consciousness. Logan would relate. Deceit moved as if he were about to scoop her up when Logan butt in.

“W-wait,” Logan coughed, blood flecking from his lips, “wait, please.” He swallowed. This internal bleeding wasn’t going to get any better, he was as good as dead if he didn’t get medical help within the next five minutes- probably less by now. Valerie though, she had been able to walk, and aside from looking ready to pass out and possibly vision damage, she would probably be fine.

She had a life left to live, and Logan knew whatever Deceit had in store for her might not let her live that life.

“Whatever you’re planning to do…to her…do it to me instead,” Logan coughed again, vision fuzzing even more. There was a pause, before a hissing- cackling laugh came from the mysterious villain.

_“Quite the little hero, I see? Hm, perhaps you would make a better test subject. Like the rats in your own lab, yes?”_ Logan could not keep his gaze up anymore, so he looked at his own blood on the floor, body shaking. Dark boots appeared in his vision, shining in the light of the fire, and a finger tipped his head up. He was forced to stare into the dark abyss of Deceit’s goggles.

_“Besides, I don’t think Morality would appreciate me letting you die, either,”_  Deceit almost managed to purr,  _“So, let’s add a new plaything into the mix.”_

Logan shivered as Deceit reached behind their back, pulling something out from a hidden pocket in their cape. A strange colored liquid in a syringe. Logan felt a wild surge of panic, and despite knowing he was going to die, his brain was screaming at him to run, run, get away! Logan fell back from his knees onto his backside as he scooted away.

_“Aw, scared? It’s okay, you’re only human…for now,”_ there was the sound of a door slamming open, and Logan could see out of the blurriness of his vision that Valerie was gone.

_“Hm, some friend she is to you,”_  Deceit said gleefully, turning back to Logan,  _“Now…”_  In the most sugary, sweet voice Logan had ever heard, Deceit  pressed Logan’s chest until he was lying on his back, and whispered,  _“Don’t move.”_

Just like that, Logan felt his entire body relax, as if put at ease by the sweet tone. His brain, however, was screaming at him to move. To escape despite the fact his bones were now lead and his blood was syrup. All he could do was stare up through a hole in the roof, up at the stars and the sliver of a moon. Possibly his final friends he would see before his untimely end. He could faintly feel the heat of the fire now, and he wondered how much closer it had gotten.

He was too busy panicking internally to feel the needle enter his arm, but he felt the liquid in his blood. Despite feeling like there was glass in his throat, Logan let out an ear piercing scream. Because now his blood wasn’t syrup, it was fire. It burned through his bloodstream, spreading to to his heart, getting sent throughout his body. Deceit immediately began to rub the injection point. Whatever it was must have some sort of drug in it designed to knock Logan out, as his vision began to grow dark.

Yet, despite the pain, despite the sudden exhaustion overtaking him, Logan was dimly aware that he no longer felt the urge to cough. As if all bleeding inside him had ceased.

He hadn’t a chance to dwell on that, however, because as he stared up at the stars and the moon, watching them slowly grow darker and darker, a blurry shape appeared over the hole in the ceiling. It looked like the torso of a person, if not for the points on their head. Cat ears.

“Oh wow, that looks bad,” Morality said. He had an accent, possibly English. Logan could not really focus on that, because his blood decided that instead of being syrup or fire, it should go to fucking ice. Logan could feel the little shards scrape his insides. From his heart, to his lungs, to his brain. It was a sharp contrast to the sweat slicking his skin from crackling flames that were definitely much, much closer than before.

Deceit looked up and let out a hissing laugh again. Morality flipped into the room from the roof, landing on all fours. The tiles broke under his feet and hands, and he sheepishly grinned at Logan. Or, at least Logan thought he did. He could not really tell though, because he was still in the midst of dying, passing out, and missing his goddamn glasses.

_“No need to be rude, Morality,”_  Deceit said. Morality snorted. Was he wearing a blindfold? That was a terrible costume design decision. Morality hovered over Logan a moment, as if trying to assess him despite the obvious blockage of his vision.

“You can move, if you want,” Morality said. It held the same commanding undertone Deceit’s voice had, but instead of sugary sweet, it was comforting. It reminded Logan of his father almost. God, as childish as it sounded, he really wanted his Dad. Still, he could move again, and he used this blessing as a chance to sit up. Deceit and Morality were facing each other, a few paces away.

_“Oh, so helpful, aren’t you?”_  Deceit asked.

“Sorry, friendo, but I think you need to take,” Morality stode forward, “a couple steps back.” With that, Morality spun and roundhouse kicked Deceit dead in the chest. The villain flew back, missing flames by a mere few inches.

_“Watch out, Morality. You almost killed me there,”_ Deceit growled.

“Now, I wouldn’t do that,” Morality said sweetly. Deceit was in front of Morality again, swinging at him. Morality gracefully twisted out of the way, sweeping Deceit’s feet out from under them.

The villain fell to the floor, and Morality grabbed them by the front of their shirt.

“Now…who are you?” Morality asked, just loud enough for Logan to hear. There was a pause, before Deceit began to laugh.

_“Oh, Morality. I’m no simple opponent. I’ve seen you. Watched you- ever since you first appeared,”_  suddenly, Morality was the one knocked off his feet, pinned under one of Deceit’s boots. He struggled desperately, but Deceit just pressed his foot down harder.

_“You can only use one of your powers at a time,”_  they said gleefully,  _“so you weren’t able to use your super strength while holding me. What? Too scared someone will recognize you if you use your real voice?”_  Logan was extremely confused, but also feeling as if his blood had turned to pins and needles. The feeling of one’s foot falling asleep, but through his whole body. He really wished whatever it was he was injected with could decide how it wanted to make him feel. He tried to rub feeling into his arms, despite his hands not feeling much better.

_“As for who I am?”_ Deceit’s gaze snapped up from where Morality was pinned,  _“Ask Logan.”_  Logan blinked in surprise, and Deceit flew up and away before he could react further. Morality gasped, sitting up.

“Jee Maneti, that hurt,” he muttered. Logan shuddered, causing Morality to face him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Unlike Deceit, who had completely covered their hair, he could see the tips of caramel curls peeking out from under the cat-eared hood Morality wore. He crouched down in front of Logan, gloved fingers brushing against Logan’s arm.

“Let me help you?” Morality murmured. It wasn’t a command, more a question. Logan nodded, causing Morality to beam at him. Apparently he could see, despite the blindfold.

“Great,” he curled one arm under Logan’s legs, the other a firm line across his back. Morality lifted Logan up with a grunt, stumbling back a bit.

“I’m not that heavy,” Logan managed to say. The pins and needles were fading, and Logan actually felt…weirdly okay. Morality scoffed.

“Yeah, but I can’t use my super strength right now, and you’re still a grown man.”

“Why can’t you use your super strength?” Logan asked.

“Cause I need to do this!” Morality suddenly launched into the air. Logan might have screamed again, curling his arms around Morality’s neck. The hero laughed, and it sounded so different from the voice he had used earlier. The pitch was totally different- yet oddly familiar.

Morality flew from the lab onto the nearest building, which was a good distance away. He landed lightly on the roof, and Logan could see the blues and reds of sirens flashing in front of his place of work. Logan couldn’t assess the damage without his glasses, but he could see lots of smoke, which wasn’t a good sign.

“I needed to ask you,” Morality’s regular voice was back, “who that guy was, and what he did to you.” Logan paused a moment as he stared at the blurry lights. How many people had been injured by the explosions? By the fire?

“Logan?”

“Oh, right, sorry. They called themself Deceit. And…and they attacked my coworker and I. I managed to get them to release her in exchange for them to use me for whatever they had planned,” Logan’s voice grew soft and shaky despite his best efforts, and tears pricked the corners of his eyes. “They…they injected me with something. It- it was incredibly painful, but I also think it stopped my internal bleeding.”

“You’re internally bleeding?!” Morality shrieked. Logan gave the hero a look.

“No, I just said that whatever it was Deceit injected me with stopped it, but-”

“But you don’t know that for sure, so we’re going to the hospital. Right now.” Without waiting for a reply, Morality leapt off the building, causing Logan’s heart to shoot into his throat before Morality floated gently down to the ground.

“Hold on tight,” Morality said. Logan wrapped his arms around the hero’s neck again as Morality smirked.

Morality took off like a bullet, the world around Logan melting together in streams of colors and lights. He could hear Morality’s cape flapping in the wind, and he rested his chin on his shoulder so he could watch it and the man’s fake cat tail twist violently. He wondered if the tail actually had any purpose, or if it was just an accessory to go with the cat theme.

The world came back into focus slightly as Morality slowed to a stop. They were in front of the hospital, which had been at the other side of town from Logan’s lab.

“That speed…is incredible,” Logan murmured.

“Yes, yes. Oh, superpowers, neat,” Logan lifted his head to look at Morality’s face. He was obviously trying to smother a smile. “Hospital first, power talk later.”

“Fine,” Logan grumbled. Morality giggled again. The pitch seemed to match his voice this time, and Logan recalled what Deceit had said about it not being his real voice.

Either way, Logan felt the tiniest bits of a blush creeping up his face. Wait, nope, not happening. He shoved that feeling down into the pits of his stomach where he kept all his other strong emotions before it could fully blossom. Morality seemed to pause a moment, as if thinking, before finally taking Logan inside.

~~~~~

Miles away from the lab that still smoked despite the hours that had passed, sunlight filtered through the leaves on the trees and into the eyes of a young boy. He wrinkled his nose and winced at the bright light, sitting up. His whole body ached, particularly his back. Blinking, he tried to remember how he ended up here. Wherever here was. He looked to the left, seeing trees stretching on in a seemingly endless steam.

Turning to the right, he saw what appeared to be a road past just a few more trees. He’d have to head that way after he figured out one thing.

_Who was he?_

It was odd. He could still remember facts and ideas, such as the fact he was clearly at the edge of a forest, and that it must be around midday, but he couldn’t remember anything personal.

He tried to recall his name, and two came to mind.

The first one wasn’t his, he knew that much. It felt wrong in his mouth, like cotton. He tried applying it to himself anyway, but it felt like needles down his back. Just so wrong, wrong, wrong.

The second name wasn’t his either. It was a name associated with warm eyes and warmer hugs. Of a soft hoodie under his fingers, and the faintest whisper of a singing voice. The only personal thing he could remember. Another memory dropped into those fuzzy ones, this one a little more clear. More a thought than anything.

_“I tried so hard to remember him, I can’t even remember myself.”_

He clutched at his hair, squeezing his eyes shut, and pulling his knees up to his chest. He just had to think.

_Who was he?_

_Who was he?_

_Who was he?!_

This entire question seemed so, so familiar, despite the specifics being out of his reach. He couldn’t remember! He couldn’t remember the name! His name!

_“Roman?”_

There. He grasped at it desperately, holding tight and refusing to let go again. Refusing to lose who he was again. It wasn’t his voice who said it, but it was his name. His name. He let out a relieved sob, moving his hands from his hair to curl around his middle, hugging himself.

“Roman, Roman, Roman, Roman,” he whispered to himself. A mantra, a prayer, a promise. “My name is Roman.”

_“ROMAN!”_

His eyes flew open, and he stared off into the trees. Right, now that he knew who he was, it was time to keep moving forward. He got to his feet, wobbling a bit. He could feel the soft fabric under his fingers, see the grey of a gaze burning beneath his eyelids whenever he closed them.

“Okay Roman,” he could almost giggle at his own name, just giddy he could say it at all.

“Let’s go find Virgil.”


	3. Local Therapist Becomes a Dad

Emile Picani was a licensed therapist, which meant he had to deal with a lot of…well, a lot of everything. Sometimes, listening to the problems of his patients weighed on him. On such days, he would drive to the edge of town with his windows rolled down, blasting his favorite cartoon soundtracks as he went.

Today was one of those days. He’d packed himself into his car and set out down his usual road- the one that led down winding country roads flanked by trees that dappled his car in shadows. He hummed along to “Love Like You” from the Steven Universe soundtrack today, feeling the stress ease away and contentment take its place.

His gaze flicked to the side- momentarily watching the trees before his eyes returned to the road. Well, that was the intention. Instead, Emile saw something fairly large and very human in the grass by the road. He slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop and adjusting his rearview mirror. Sure enough, the grass beside the road rustled, and a child who couldn’t be any older then ten at the very most popped out. They looked around, expression growing sad, before they wandered back a little further, prying the grass apart. Emile couldn’t see their face, but judging by the way their shoulder drooped, they hadn’t been successful in finding whatever it was they were looking for.

Emile pulled over to the side of the road and parked his car, hopping out and carefully heading towards the child. His thoughts swirling as he contemplated ways to comfort the poor thing if need be.

“Hello there!” He called a greeting. The child looked up and their face brightened. They rushed him, wrapping their tiny arms around his waist in a hug. Emile was a bit taken aback, but he only paused a moment before returning the hug. They stood like that for a moment before the child pulled back, looking confused and downright upset. Now, that wouldn’t do!

“You aren’t Virgil,” they said. Emile blinked.

“Fraid not! My name is Emile. Emile Picani. What’s your name?” He tried to keep his tone cheerful. The child beamed.

“My name is Roman!” he squeaked confidently.

“Well, Roman, it’s so super wonderful to meetcha! Now, who is this Virgil you’re looking for? Your brother?” Roman’s nose scrunched up, a thoughtful expression flitting onto his face.

“I dunno. I know he’s my friend…and I know he’s seven, like me! But I don’t remember anything else.” Emile’s brow furrowed in concern, and he crouched down to eye level with Roman.

“Is there anything else you remember at all? Not necessarily about Virgil. Just in general?” Roman’s nose somehow got even more scrunched.

“No,” Roman said, eyes flicking to the side. Emile felt a spike of deep concern at the admission.  _‘So he doesn’t remember his parents? How odd- perhaps he’s had some sort of injury? Or perhaps-’_  his train of thought cut off as a tiny hand gripped at his sleeve.

“Can you help me find Virgil, please mister? I need to find him,” Roman plead, eyes shining with unshed tears. Emile was unsure. He knew he had to do something, though he knew, logically, that something would be to take Roman to the police so they could help find his family. Strangely enough, that thought seemed to make Roman grip his sleeve tighter.

“Okay. Okay, I’ll help ya!” Emile straightened up and offered his hand to the boy. Roman beamed brightly and took it.

~~~~~

Virgil didn’t like stealing. It left a horrible, twisting feeling in his guts and a pit in the center of his stomach. He wondered if he’d ever stolen in his old life- the life he couldn’t remember. He hoped not.

He took deep, calming breaths as he slowly laced up the boots. The shoes he’d woken up in had been fine at first, but after walking for miles his feet had begun to ache. These boots were made for walking, so Vigil hoped he wouldn’t need to…borrow a new pair any time soon. Boots fully on, he turned to face himself in the mirror. They actually looked nice, and in other circumstances, maybe Virgil would be excited to wear them. But right here, right now, it felt like concrete weighing down his feet.

Virgil shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets, fingers brushing against the wrapper of the sandwich he’d taken earlier. He’d held off on eating all of it, because the churning guilt in his tummy had him thinking he’d barf if he tried to eat any more. He looked himself in the eyes, grey meeting grey. Then, he closed them, and took one more deep inhale. He focused, feeling the tingling pins and needles all through his body before the sensation slowly faded, and Virgil cracked open his eyes.

His gaze was no longer reflected back at him. Virgil moved a bit, making sure that he was completely gone. He was- good. Virgil picked up his old shoes, watching them seemingly float in the mirror, before he shoved them under his hoodie and they vanished from view. He’d figure out how to dispose of them once he got out of here. He unlocked the door to the changing room, and pushed it open, peering out. No one around except a rather bored employee playing on his phone nearby. Virgil forced his breathing to grow light and shallow as he slipped past the door and into the rest of the store.

It only took him a few moments to figure out how to best adjust his weight in the new shoes so he didn’t make a sound as he slid right past the employee out into the early evening. The sun was slowly beginning to set, oozing red-orange-pinks across the concrete and city streets. Cars sped past, and Virgil watched them warily. He looked around before focusing again, holding his hands in front of himself and watching as they slowly phased back into reality. He flexed his fingers and shoved the guilt down deep, deep inside him. That wasn’t important right now.

Virgil began to stride down the sidewalk, new boots thudding in a steady pattern. Virgil’s eyes scanned every nook, every cranny, every corner he could as he walked past. This mission felt impossible, but he’d figure it out. He had to. He had to get his memories back, and more importantly.

He had to find Roman.

~~~~~

“Did you find him?” Roman asked. Emile got to his feet again, drenched in sweat and covered in grass stains. He’d spent the entire day attempting to help Roman find his missing friend, but no matter how much they looked there were no signs of life aside from a deer who had been startled by their search and bounded away.

“‘Fraid not,” Emile said, leaning against his car. At one point, Roman had grown exhausted, so Emile let him sit in the passenger seat with the door open, and the little boy would direct where he hadn’t searched quite thoroughly enough yet. Upon hearing the bad news, the child’s whole posture seemed to droop.

It was getting late; Emile could see the sun sinking in the distance. He decided maybe he should take Roman to the police so they could get him placed in a foster home, but Roman suddenly lunged from the car, gripping Emile’s legs.

“Nonononono!” He squeaked, “Don’t let anyone take me away! I’ll never find Virgil if I have to move to another city!” Emile looked at the quivering child and sighed, wondering how he’d known what he’d been thinking. He ignored the curiosity in favor of smoothing Roman’s hair back.

“Now now, it’s gonna be okay!” Emile reassured. He felt like taking Roman to the station or even a hospital would be the responsible thing to do…but the shaking, sobbing desperate child melted Emile’s heart.

“Tell ya what,” Roman looked up at him with wide, wet eyes. “You come home with me tonight, and I’ll continue to help you look for Virgil when we’re both all rested up, okay?” Roman sniffed and nodded, weakly slumping against Emile’s legs. The man smiled and scooped up the boy, situating him back into the passenger seat and buckling him in before heading over to the driver’s side himself. He strapped himself in an turned the radio on as he began the car. Roman sleepily nodded his head along with the song, making Emile laugh. What a cutie, this one.

“M’not.”

“Pardon?” Emile asked, heading down the road. He glanced over briefly, but Roman was already asleep. The man sighed and shook his head, setting his sights for home.

~~~~~

“Patton? Earth to Patty Patt,” Patton jumped as Remy knocked a fist lightly against his skull. Worry lightly zinged across his skin, and Patton laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his curls.

“Sorry, Rem, I’m just worried about Logan is all,” Patton aggressively scrubbed the counter. It had been two days since the attack on the lab, and while Patton had hoped Logan would text him, there was no such luck. Remy pursed his lips and glanced over at their other new hire, Helen. She was busy chatting with an older woman about the weather as she prepared her coffee, so she was blissfully oblivious to the brothers’ conversation.

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Remy assured. He skirted around Patton to set up more cups in an intricate display. Patton was distantly aware of the bell above the door jingling as he added, “He’s in the hospital now and I doubt he’ll…be…out…soon…” Remy’s words seemed to fail him as he stared towards the door. Patton whipped around and, Lo and behold.

“Logan?!” Patton squeaked, dashing around the counter and grabbing the man’s arms, looking him up and down with a fuss. “What are you doing here? You should be resting!” Logan gently tugged his arms away and sighed.

“Hello, Patton. As much as your concern is appreciated, it is not required. I was at the hospital overnight, but they could find no issues and thus no reason to keep me there. I would have visited yesterday, but I did decide to stay home an extra day as to not stain myself…just in case.” Patton’s brows furrowed in confusion, and he opened his mouth to ask about that internal bleeding before he remembered that Patton wouldn’t know about that.  _Morality_  was the one who saved Logan, not him.

“Speaking of. How did you know I was caught in an accident anyway?” Logan asked, narrowing his eyes. Patton jolted back and started the laugh maniacally.

“Oh, yes, erm, it- I,” Patton stammered, but Remy swooped in to save him (bless his heart).

“It’s on the news, fam,” he quipped, pointing up at the television where the smoking remains of the lab were shown. Logan winced and nodded slowly.

“I see…but yes, I had close contact with the villain, and I assumed I was injured, but the doctors have informed me otherwise. I am fine to go about my day.” Patton nodded, a bit relieved, and slipped back behind the counter.

“So what are you planning to do for work?” Remy asked. Logan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, they’re talking about transferring me to the sister lab, but they want to get some things rearranged and set up. So for a few weeks, I’ll probably be working from home on my laptop. I don’t work today, though. Getting caught and nearly killed by a supervillain is apparently enough to have work canceled for a few days.” Patton snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth as Logan gave him a funny look.

“Sorry…it was just a funny joke,” Patton said, recalling at the near death experiences he’s had to brush off to work early morning shifts.

“It wasn’t a joke,” Logan’s face twitched down at the corners, but Patton couldn’t feel past that ball of static that was Logan’s emotions to tell whether or not he had actually been offended.

“Sorry,” he offered, just in case. Logan shrugged. He hadn’t been offended, he simply did not understand Patton’s particular brand of humor. He was surprised, however, when the bubbly man passed him a cup of coffee.

“I haven’t even ordered yet,” Logan commented, arching an eyebrow at Patton, who shrugged.

“It’s on the house. I bet you’ll like it,” Patton tapped him on the nose, causing Logan to feel his face heat up. He took a tentative sip, and a flurry of flavors hit his tongue. It was quite different from his usual order of plain black coffee, but not necessarily in a bad way. He found himself smiling despite himself, and looked up at rather shy looking Patton.

“Thank you…it’s delicious,” Logan mumbled, taking another sip.

“You know what would taste even better?” Remy asked, propping himself up on his elbows, “Pa-” Patton immediately slapped a hand over Remy’s mouth and pulled him into a headlock.

“SORRY IGNORE HIM ENJOY YOUR COFFEEANDYOURDAYOKAYBYE!” Patton yanked Remy into the back room, and Logan blinked slowly. His confused attention was drawn away from the door where Patton and Remy had disappeared to the sound of a soft chuckle. The origin of the laugh was the woman with short blonde hair who was working as well, and Logan brightened a bit upon seeing her.

“Helen. I’m glad to see your interview went well,” Logan greeted. He’d met the woman the day previous, when she accidentally bumped into him and spilt his coffee. She had apologized profusely and even offered to pay Logan back for the spilled drink before he pointed her in the direction of the cafe, as she was supposed to be there for an interview.

“It did,” she agreed, writing a name on a cup and setting it down gracefully. “Then again, they hired Remy, so I don’t believe their standards are that high.”

“HEY!” Remy popped his head out from the back room. “Watch it Missy!” She scoffed, and Patton yanked his brother back into the safety of the back room. Logan chuckled and held up his coffee with a nod.

“Well, tell Patton I said thank you for the coffee, would you?” Helen nodded, and Logan strode from the cafe. The weather was rather nice- sunny and warm with a slight breeze. It was a strange contrast to the dread slowly pooling in his stomach. Things Deceit had said stuck to his mind, leaving him troubled and antsy.  _‘You’re only human…for now.’_

That was the most prominent of them. It haunted him like a shadow as he walked. As if any moment he would fall over, writhing in agony, and proceed to go through a painful transformation into some hellbeast.

He didn’t. He kept walking down the street, slowly sipping his coffee as he grew lost in thought. Though, despite being mostly lost in his mind, Logan found his gaze wandering to the bright blue blur of a speeding car. He scoffed at their recklessness, but it turned to horror as he noted they weren’t planning to stop.

There was a child in the crosswalk.

Most people assume that heroes will move before they think; Logan did the opposite. His brain kicked into overdrive- he knew he’d never make it in time. Calling out would be pointless, the child was already staring up in terror at the car growing closer. All Logan could do was thrust out an arm. He imagined he were there, shoving the child out of harm’s way.

To his shock, the child flew back out of the way, landing on their backside a little ways away from the car. The maniac didn’t even stop as they rushed past, causing the child’s hair to ruffle in the wind left behind. Logan hurried over to the child now that the danger was gone, helping them to their feet.

“Are you-” Logan began, but the child looked at him, grey eyes full of confusion.

“You pushed me.” The child said, voice wary and hesitant, yet intrigued.

“I…no, impossible. I was over there I couldn’t-” the child shook their head, stepping back.

“You pushed me…” they repeated it again. They took another step back, and their brows furrowed thoughtfully. Logan watched as they shakily pulled what looked like a shoe from under their hoodie. They threw it at Logan, but he managed to dodge it.

“What the-” He turned, another shoe was flying towards his face. He held up a hand, bracing for the impact, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, the shoe was hovering in front of his face, and the child was gone.


End file.
